Re-Bubble Concept Puts Your Old Soaps in Public Restrooms

"Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without" -- This is an old saying that is great for living sustainably, and designs that help us live this mantra usually catch our eye. Such is the case with Re-Bubble by designers WooJae Lee, MinSu Kim & WoongKi Kim. The idea is that public restrooms and conscientious cleaners can work in conjunction to keep soap dispensers filled using the little remnants of bar soaps that often go into the trash. The machine transforms bar soap into bubbles for anyone to use. But, is it all that practical?The re-Bubble soap dispenser would accept bar soap through the slot on the top, grind it up with a battery powered motor, and with the press of a button dispense a few flakes for hand-washers.

Admittedly, the design is a bit of a miss. On the one hand, we have the need for soap dispensers in public restrooms, so this design isn't unnecessary. However, that's about where the practicality stops.

A public restroom facility would be relying on visitors to haul in their old soap and keep the dispensers full. Most of the time, that's not likely to happen. It would also rely on a battery powered motor to grind up the soaps, which is also not a good idea for public restrooms unless they get constant care. And finally, even though it's soap, would we really feel comfortable using soap from a dispenser with a slot on top, where anyone could put anything into it? Nope.

We love the idea of smarter ways to use up what we have and often toss, especially when it includes sharing goods. But while this design hits those marks, it's doubtful the handy gadget will get past the drawing board.